Clark reaches a career-high with 21 points to go along with 11 rebounds

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Nov. 29, 2013) – In search of its first home victory of the 2013-14 season, the ETSU women’s basketball team got what it was seeking Friday night with an 82-65 victory over the Alabama A&M Bulldogs inside Brooks Gym.

With the win, ETSU improves to 2-3 on the season, while Alabama A&M drops to 0-5 overall.

In the first-ever meeting between the two teams, ETSU was engaged in a closely-played first five minutes of the game where the Bucs led by no more than five points. As the half wore on, the Bucs began to capitalize off of A&M turnovers with points and also cashed-in with a number of second-chance points. The Blue and Gold also made good on multiple trips to the free-throw line which allowed ETSU to increase its advantage. As halftime approached the Bucs’ double-digit lead reached a first-half high of 18 points on a lay-in by Ashley Miles (Bowie, Md.) with under a minute to play. The Bulldogs answered with a basket to cut into the deficit, 43-27, at the break.

As the second half wore on, ETSU kept a safe lead throughout. The Bucs were able to turn the Bulldogs over and get out on the break for eight points in the period and continued to dominate on the offensive glass with eight boards resulting in six second-chance points. Junior Serena Clark (Stone Mountain, Ga.) continued to showcase her athleticism in the second half with 10 points and four rebounds to bring her game totals to a career-high 21 points as well as 11 boards. This double-double was the fourth-consecutive for the native Georgian. In the end, ETSU overmatched its guest from Huntsville, Ala. by a final score of 82-65.

ETSU struggled from the field, shooting only 42 percent, but supplemented for it by knocking down 22 free throws. The game was decided with the Bucs’ dominant advantages in nearly every statistical category including points in the paint (42-22), points off turnovers (33-16) second-chance points (25-8), fast break points (14-4) and bench points (24-10). The Blue and Gold also outrebounded its third opponent of the 2013-14 season, this time with a 43-29 advantage.

The Bulldogs struggled from the floor, shooting only 40 percent, but shot it well from the charity stripe like ETSU with 23 makes. A&M was poor from three-point range, making only 4-of-20 attempts, and its disadvantages in the vast majority of the statistical categories added up to an 82-65 loss on Friday night.

ETSU has a quick turnaround with a trip to Cullowhee, N.C. to take on the Western Carolina Catamounts on Sunday, Dec. 1, at 5 p.m.

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